Subscribe to Femina.in, India's fastest growing women's website

Femina has been capturing the essence of the Indian woman for 58 years now, and has evolved with her over the years bringing the world to her doorstep. And now, here's your chance to get the dope on everything--from celebrities and fashion, beauty and wellness, to lifestyle and relationships--delivered directly to your inbox. Plus expert tips, polls, contests and other interactive articles and a whole lot more!

Komal Ganotra fights for child rights

Komal Ganotra, a leading Indian activist, is at the forefront of the nationwide campaign against child labour. Currently, as director, policy research and advocacy, Child Rights and You (CRY), Komal and her team have been working with two million underprivileged children, parents and communities in 23 states. No stranger to the cause a child’s right, the lady has been forging a path for their protection for the past 15 years. In fact, before she signed onboard in April 2014, Komal had worked as a consultant with various national and international organisations such as the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and the UN Refugee Agency.

Not the shy, retiring types, Komal! She has been rather vocal in making sure that violations against a child’s rights across the country aren’t hidden away in the reams of paperwork. Komal has been rather critical about the declining fund allocation for child welfare in Indian budgets and has recorded the same in her writings that a steady fall in budgets earmarked for children, who constitute over 40 per cent of our population, is not a fair bargain.

Under her tutelage, they have just presented a damning analysis of the latest Census data pertaining to child labourers. Marking the ‘World Day against Child Labour’, observed around the world on June 12, the report has some disquieting statistics, particularly with reference to West Bengal. As per the analysis, one in every three child labourers in the state within the 9-15 years age group is illiterate. In the report, Ganotra states: “Working children and those working long stretches before and after school hours have issues of inattentiveness and tiredness in school, lesser attendance, lack of play time and social bonding after school, which subsequently leads to drop-out and hampers their growth and development. It is absolutely disheartening to see a 37 per cent increase in child labourers in the category of 5-9 years in the past ten years.”